Cold Protection
by smoking-tulips
Summary: Anni lives a peaceful life - until one of the gangs in the city kidnap her for reasons she can not fathom. However, there seems to be more to the Nordic Gang than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

She had never expected this to be the way to die.

Gunshots rang down the narrow alleyway as the men came closer and closer.

Huddling behind the large metal dumpster, Anni tried to think of something pleasant. However; as the noises only became louder and louder – all she could think of was how she wished she could at least have said goodbye to her older brother.

Heavy footsteps hurriedly approached her and Anni prayed her death would at least be swift and painless.

Someone stopped right in front of the dumpster – only a metre or so away from her hiding place. Muffled and deep voices where talking to each other, but the young woman couldn't make out any words.

Suddenly a large hand grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up to stand on her feet. Anni tried to scream, but the man's other hand was quick to be placed over her mouth, silencing her as more gunshots could be heard from the main street.

She was supposed to be home by now – surely Basch would notice she was late? Everything was a blur – the gunshots had come so suddenly she hadn't had time to think. Instead she'd ran for her dear life and hid. Unsure of what was really happening.

Her brother had warned her about some rival gangs, but they never went to this side of the town! Anni shock like a leaf as the tears ran down her face. She tried to make out the shapes of people around her, but her tear-stained eyes only gave her vague shapes.

"Denmark! Get her away from here!" a deep voice ordered angrily and without warning Anni found herself pulled up the alleyway. Kicking and screaming with all her might she tried to break free of the giant man's grasp. Sinking her teeth into his hand momentarily gave her a opportunity to scream as the man cursed angrily in a language she didn't understand at all.

However; before she could break free of his other hand, she was once again silenced. Choking back more tears Anni tried to stomp down on the man's feet with no success.

Blinking away some tears, she only just managed to get a glimpse of a large black car heading straight for them. The car skid to a halt only mere centre metres from her feet, and for a moment Anni swore her heart stopped beating.

The tall man opened the door before pushing the petite woman inside.

The smell of leather and gunpowder hit her the moment she was inside.

A blonde man was sitting in the front passenger seat, brandishing a very large gun, the drivers seat was occupied by a young man with white hair – barely older than her.

Anni tried to turn around to face the man who had dragged her to the car, but before she could manage a piece of fabric was wrapped around her eyes – blinding her from her surroundings.

"Ice, Get us the fuck out of here" the same voice from before ordered as Anni heard the car door to her right slam and felt another presence join her in the back-seat.

"Where is Sweden?" someone from the front asked worriedly.

"He's diverting their attention, he's got ammo and the motorcycle is nearby – he'll be fine, just focus on the road and make sure to get us home safely." the deep voice to her right answered.

The car revved to life and spun forward, it made a pained noise as it was forced to go from first to fifth gear in barely any time at all.

Squirming in her seat, Anni tried to get the blindfold off. Her brain was still struggling to realise she was not dead yet.

A large and warm hand was placed over her hands and a different yet still rough voice spoke quietly in her ear

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you."

Anni highly doubted the man's words – his voice came from the left which must mean he was the same guy who had blindfolded her and dragged her to the car. She trusted no one.

"I don't believe you" she whispered back.

"Too bad, you don't have much of a choice." came the chillingly cold reply from the man to her right.

Anni had already decided that man has to be a demon from some ice-realm. No one could speak like that and still be human.

Not daring to say anything else she remained silent the rest of the journey, becoming only slightly curious as to what language they seem to be speaking to each other.

As the car slows down to a halt Anni can hear gravel under the tires and when the door is opened the smell of salt-water hits her.

Panicking widely again she tries to once again break free from the giant man's grip. The only thing on her mind is the stories her brothers have told her about how Mafia groups sink their victims to the bottom of the sea.

But the cold sea is quickly replaced by the warmth of a house and then large hands fumble with her blindfold.

As the fabric fell to her feet, it takes a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the strong light.

"There ya go missy, safe and sound."

The petite woman turns to face her capturer - having to crank her neck almost all the way back to stare up at him. The man has a wide and friendly smile - something she finds strangely odd for a gang member - however; his hair is a spiky mess and suits her mental image of someone wild and dangerous.

She takes a few steps backwards away from the smiling man – not trusting that smile the slightest.

Keeping and eye on the taller man, Anni doesn't realise there's someone else behind her until she slams into their chest. Turning around the coldest eyes she's ever seen meet hers and an involuntary squeak of fright escape her lips as she backs away from this other terrifyingly scary man.

"Ice, take little miss Zwingli to her room will you?" the man with the icy glare asks, and immediately Anni recognises his voice as the one to her right in the car – the man with the voice of a demon.

"W-What do you want from me?" she quietly asks, trying to be as brave as possible. Her brother always told her to use confidence around crooks – try to not show fear. However, she's unsure where she is, unsure who these people are and more importantly: she has no idea what they want with her.

"Why have you brought me here? I am of no use to you." she realises too late what she's said. 'no use'...perhaps they though her to be someone else? But now they'll discover she's useless and kill her... Then again he did get her name correctly. Anni fidgets nervously under the blonde man's cold stare.

His silence is highly unsettling.

"M-My brother is a police officer! He'll have you all arrested!" she finally manages to say with only a slight tremble in her voice.

Her outburst earn her a hearty laughter from the spiky haired man and a small chuckle from the man with the cold eyes.

"Dear little Miss Zwingli...you are here because of your brother..." the ice cold man coolly states, making Anni shudder in fright.

This is certainly terrifying.

"You can't use me to blackmail him! He won't give in to crooks like you" Her fists clench together tightly as she draws up all the courage she can muster and stare right back into those cold eyes.

"My sources indicate quite the opposite..."

A pang of worry hits her at his words – how much do these men know about her and her brother? Have they been spying on them? But for what reason? Her head is spinning with unanswered questions.

Anni tries to keep her eyes focused on the man, but the sudden feeling of another hand on her shoulder makes her jump and turn around.

The youngest of the group, hair as white as snow and with a certain lavender hue to his eyes is staring expressionlessly down at her.

"Come on...I'll take you to your room..."

At first she tries to protest, but the man with the cold eyes and the taller spiky haired one - Denmark was it? - is still standing in the lobby and to be perfectly honest; Anni thinks she prefers to go with this 'ice' guy. He seems less scary.

Leading her up the large staircase, the petite woman tries to get a good grasp of where she is. By the sea – obviously - but apart from that the house gives nothing away.

It's sleek and modern, yet it has some strange decorations hanging about.

A very large collection of various battle axes are hooked to the wall as they walk up the stairs – they look old and worn; the real deal and not replicas.

'Ice' leads her down a long white hallway, several pictures of mountains adorning the wall – her first though is that they must be stolen – yet the signatures of the various artists are not the most famous ones. Some names she doesn't even recognise.

'Do gang members appreciate art?' she wonders as she continues to follow the white haired young man.

"There you go."

Anni stares wide eyed at the room she's arrantly supposed to reside in.

Not only is it brightly lit and warm – it's beautifully decorated.

She gives a surprised gasp of joy as she skips inside the room.

There is a large four post bed seemingly taken out of a princess movie, with an elaborate bed-cover draped across the duvet and pillows; and to her great amusement and joy someone has placed a large pink stuffed bunny on the bed.

"It's gorgeous." she whispered, bewildered at the strange situation she seemed to now be in.

things where making less and less sense by the minute.

"Glad you like it...the phone on the night-stand is connected to the other ones...press 6 for the living room, 7 for the kitchen and if you need help with anything else press 5."

"Help?"

"Yeah, it's just if you need something..."

"So if I press 5...anyone of those scary guys from downstairs will come up?" Anni did not like that thought at all.

"No..." the young male shook his head and gave her a small sky smile for a brief moment before his normal stoic expression returned. "if you ring number five, I'll be the one coming to help you..."

Despite her situation, Anni couldn't help but smile.

"All right, I think I understand...Mr...um... What's your name?" even if he was one of her kidnappers, Anni wanted to know his name.

"Iceland."

"That's a country, not a name" she huffed, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the white haired male.

"It's a codename..."

"So you get to know my full name, yet I'm not even allowed to know you by anything except some odd little northern island?"

"That's right."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair Miss Zwingli, now if you'll excuse me...I have work to do. Dinner is in two hours..."

"Hey you can't just le-" the petite woman sunk down on the bed as 'Iceland' disappeared out the door, the unmistakeable sound of a lock being turned ringing out over the big, bright room.

* * *

><p><em>A.N: okay, I like the pairing IceLiech (it's cute) and I was in a mood to write some mafiaganster Nordics. so thus this story was born._

_more to come (hopefully) soon_


	2. Chapter 2

Anni might have been cursed with looks far too young for her real age – however there was nothing wrong with her mind.

After having laid on the bed for a while – staring at the ceiling – she decided to do a throughout exploration of the room.

A white painted bookcase stood next to her window – that sported a rather large window sill – perfect to sit and enjoy the view. And the view was actually very beautiful.

It sadly didn't tell her anything about her whereabouts.

And the phone seemed to be some form of an intercom – only able to ring other phones in the house.

To her great disappointment the window only opens five centre-metres – enough to let fresh air in, but not enough to even consider escape.

Next to a beautiful Victorian-inspired dressing table is a door to a beautifully tiled en-suite bathroom. Anni has only seen such a luxurious room in magazines and films.

Yet; despite the beautiful and comfortable room – it's still her prison.

Returning to her bed, she grabs the stuffed bunny and hugs it close to her body, willing the tears in her yes to not fall yet.

The soft knock on her door takes her by surprise – two hours must have passed already, because there is Iceland in the doorway with a tray of food.

Anni doesn't want to show him her weak side – she's done so enough today already – so she quickly turns around to stare out the window.

Iceland doesn't say anything until he's placed the tray of food on a small table next to the comfy upholstery chair by the bookcase – he himself drags a small flimsy plastic chair out from behind the wardrobe and sits down next to the table.

"Eat." He states, pointing at the food he's brought.

"I'm not hungry" it's not even a lie – even if the food does smell delicious, she's far to nervous, scared and worried to think about eating anything.

For what seems like hours he simply sits there. Anni tries not to look at him, but when he suddenly just gets up from the chair and briskly walks over to her bed she can't help but look and then scramble quickly to the top of the bed.

"If you don't eat Norway won't be happy..."

She wants to ask who exactly 'Norway' is, to confirm if her suspicions are correct – but instead she decides to shake her head and throw one of her pillows at him.

Iceland frowns before throwing the pillow right back at her.

Bewildered at his actions she cuddles one pillow protectively against her body as she launches another one straight for his head. The white haired male ducks away from the first assault, but the second one hits him scare in the face as he moves to stand up again.

Anni can't help but smile victoriously.

It only takes a few seconds before they have full on war with her pillows, hair frayed and faces red as they both collapse on the large bed. Anni giggling happily as she struggles to regain her breath.

"Now will you eat your food?" he finally asks, his chest rising slowly as he takes deep breaths.

Mulling over the question, she gets an idea

"Tell me your real name and I will."

Iceland crosses his arms and closes his eyes as he considers the deal, giving Anni time to roll onto her stomach and observe him closer. He can only be a year or two older than her – perhaps the same age. Despite his stark white hair he's very young.

Perhaps he's an albino? Although she has to admit she tough all albinos' had red eyes – maybe she's wrong...

He looks so harmless compared to the other men.

"Haldur."

Anni blinks and quickly withdraws her hand that had been inching closer to touch his hair – it looks as soft as the white clouds in the sky.

"Haldur?" she asks, trying to replicate the odd pronunciation of his name

"Yeah, that's right..." propping himself up he turns to look at her and for a brief moment Anni swears her heart skips a beat.

'Stockholm syndrome' a voice in her head warn – it sounds suspiciously like her brother's actually.

She knows all about crook's tricks and lies – Basch has spent years teaching her a lot about the intricate Mafia system that exists in their town. Some of the 'families' are bigger than the others and have a much larger network of connections.

Connections that can see people disappear forever.

Whoever these guys abide to is still a mystery . Neither their faces or nor their code-names really ring a bell.

Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden. That's the names she's gathered so far – yet these strange Nordic men don't seem to have any connection to any other family Basch told her about.

A hand is waved in front of her eyes and Anni quickly snaps out of her own thoughts.

"Come on..you now know my name...please eat your dinner."

"That was the deal..." she notes solemnly to herself as she carefully makes her way towards the food. It's no longer quite as warm, but taking the spoon in her hand she deems that even if it's only lukewarm the soup is more than delicious.

Haldur sits quietly by the small table with her, chin in his hand as he watches her eat with half lidded eyes.

"Are you not hungry?" she enquires worriedly, he's after all rather thin.

"I'll eat later...with the others." he replies with a shrug

this answer takes her by surprise  
>"You eat with the other...gang members...as in..a family meal?"<p>

"Of course, we're a family..."

"Hh, well...I suppose that makes sense..."  
>She goes quiet again as she thinks some more – perhaps Haldur will tell her why they kidnapped her.<p>

"Can...can I ask you a question?"

"Depends..."

"Why am I here? I mean...why did you kidnap me?"

"I can't tell you that...not yet anyway..."

Frowning she tries to resist throwing the glass of water at the young male; yet the temptation proves to be too big.

Iceland doesn't see the water coming, his eyes widened in shock as he's soaked by the contents of the glass, before they quickly narrow in anger.

Anni squeak's in fright at his sudden change of expression (he suddenly looks a lot like that person she thinks is called 'Norway', and it terrifies her). She leans back in her chair as Haldur stands up and towers over her – the few centre metres height difference between them much more apparent than before.

"That was stupid of you." he hisses angrily. Mentally she berates herself; she should have been more careful – even if he doesn't look like it – Haldur is still a member of the Mafia. The smiling man in the front of the car earlier today didn't look like a typical gang member either – yet he was holding a very large gun. Things are not as they appear here – she can't forget that.

She closes her eyes tightly as he reaches out for her, saying a silent prayer to whatever god is up there to save her.  
>However, nothing happens.<p>

Instead the door slams and the room goes silent.

Opening her eyes slightly she notices Iceland has left – locking the door behind him again.

~~~~~~XXX~~~~~~~

He doesn't know what to do, so he opts for what he always did when he was younger; sink down next to Norway's desk.

"Something the mater?" the older Nordic asks

"Our little guest is...troublesome..." he admits as he drawn his knees closer to his body

"Is that why you're soaking wet?"

"Yes..."

"I'll send Finland up tomorrow then..."

"No!" Iceland suddenly bursts out.

Norway stares in wonder at the younger male – he hadn't thought the Icelandic male to have such a strong opinion on the subject matter.

"All right...guess you keep the job then..."

"Thank you Erik" Haldur mumbles as he tries to hide is blush from the older male.

"Bring her down to the kitchen for breakfast tomorrow...perhaps she'll be less troublesome with Sweden around"

Haldur nods in agreement before taking his leave.

~~~~~~XXX~~~~~~~

Having cried herself to sleep, Anni awakens to a soft knocking on her door. For a brief moment her still sleepy mind thinks she's safe and sound at home and a quiet "Come in" is mumbled into her pillow.

However, it's not the familiar face of her brother that opens the door – it's Iceland.

Immediately she draws the covers over her entire body , not wanting him to see she slept in her clothes from yesterday.

"Breakfast is downstairs in the kitchen in one hour...I'll leave towels and a change of clothes here..."

and with that he's gone again.

The click from the lock never comes – and once she manages to drag herself out of bed she realises that she's essentially been given freedom to leave the room.

Inspecting the things Haldur brought her; she's surprised to notice the change of clothes looks just like one of her dresses from home.

Her suspicions are confirmed once she's showered – the dress fits her perfectly and even has the hand-stitched initials of her name on the label.

On one hand it's not too hard to imagine her kidnappers also raiding her house for her clothes – yet on the other hand it makes no sense why they'd get her own clothes when they could easily have forced her to wear whatever pleased them.

The first sight that meets her as she carefully opens the door is a very bored looking Iceland reading a book as he's leaning against the wall opposite her room.

He walks her down to the kitchen, not a single word is spoken between them – and it unsettles the young female much more than she'd like to admit.

The scene that greets her as she steps into the kitchen is something she'd never imagined nor dreamt of ever happening.

Norway is lying slumped on the table – completely lost to the waking world. Haldur sighs at the sight of the older Nordic snoring over the kitchen table and directs a stern glare towards the other members of his 'family'.

"Denmark...did you forget to give Norway his morning cup of coffee again?"

The spiky haired man looks up from his cereal with a bewildered expression,

"Oh shit! I forgot!"

"You always forget." a tall and scary looking blonde man to the Dane's right replies with a thick accent Anni can barely make out.

"Oh fuck you Sweden! I have a lot to do I'll have you know!"

Haldur rolls his eyes and hits the taller man in the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper before passing it over to the tall and scary looking man with glasses. "You know the rules...you forget his coffee – you wake him up."

Denmark makes a whining sound and begs Iceland to do it. Anni can only stand in the doorway with a bewildered expression as she watched the chaotic scene unfold.

"Come on Ice! He's your brother! You wake him!"

"Rules are rules...you said so yourself."

This seems to shut the Dane up as he slowly and warily makes his way over to the sleeping Nordic on the opposite end of the table.

"Hey...Nor...wake up." the tall Nordic places a hand lightly on the sleeping man's shoulder and gently nudges him.

Anni is completely unprepared for what follows next.

In mere seconds Norway is awake, having grabbed a hold of Denmark's arm and twisted it behind the taller man's back – forcing him to the ground.

The Dane's pained noises seems to be highly amusing to the rest of the gang members.

However; the humiliation seems to only last for a few seconds before the happy and smiling blonde man from yesterday appears with a large mug of coffee.

Immediately the Dane is released as Norway mutters a quiet "Thank you." as he takes his seat at the table once again.

Blinking in amazement Anni tries to understand exactly what's going on. Before she knows it the smiling man is standing in front of her with a bright and genuine smile on his face.

"Miss Zwingli. Good morning! What would you like for breakfast?"

Not even thinking, she answers on autopilot

"Toast with jam if you have any, please..."

"Certainly! Would you like some tea too?"

Anni nods before Haldur gently takes her hand and leads her over to an empty chair by the table.

Seated in-between Iceland and Norway, she tries not to panic as she notices the scary looking man is staring right at her from across the table.

The loud Dane has taken his seat in-between Iceland and Sweden, and is currently trying to pry the newspaper away from the swede – his attempts earn him the sports section, but nothing else.

As the happy looking Nordic return with a plate of toast Anni whispers a quiet thanks as it's placed in front of her.

"Did you sleep well?" he asks with what seems to be genuine worry in his voice.

"Yes I did..." she lies " the bed is very comfortable. Thank you Mr..." she trails off as she's still not sure of this man's 'codename'.

"I'm sorry, what do I call you?"

"Finland is the codename" the blonde man replies with a smile "but you can call me Tino if you wish."

"Is...is Tino your real name?" she carefully inquires

"Yes it is, the scary looking man here to my right is Sweden, but he won't mind if you call him Berwald..."

"Stop telling her our real names will you" Norway cuts in with a stern voice.

"She'll figure it out sooner or later Nor." Denmark replies with a mouthful of cereal.

"You seem to forget our orders..."

The entire table falls into silence – everyone returning to their breakfast with serious expressions plastered across their face. The entire atmosphere is suddenly heavy and tense. Even the ever smiling Finland is frowning.

Anni is none the wiser about her role in this kidnapping as breakfast is over and she's escorted back to her room.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_Slow progress - sorry about that._

_Stuck in a flat for two more weeks with no internet and a very hectic university life. Things might get updated very slowly and it will take longer to reply to reviews. so sorry._

_hope you still enjoy this story! 8D_


	3. Chapter 3

There isn't much for her to do in her own room apart from read, and after only four days she's read every book of interest – and a few she found boring.

When Haldur comes along with a basket of freshly washed and laundered clothes, he finds the petite woman balancing on top of a chair trying to dust the top of her bookcase.

After being scolded by the young male for doing something so dangerous, she is allowed to wander more or less freely around the mansion. At least her stunt to cure her boredom earned her some perks.

While not exactly 'free' – Anni has to admit she'd never imagine kidnapping to be like this.

It is nothing like how her brother, TV or even films has ever made it out to be.

Her meals are tasty and Haldur has even asked her for her preferences. Out of spite of them all she mentioned a cheese fondue made out of extremely luxurious and expensive cheeses – yet instead of a laugh and a shake of their heads, the petite woman is greeted the next day by said fondue.

Finland apologises profoundly when he serves the dish – apparently he couldn't find the exact ingredients. However; she can't bring herself to complain.

Because it's better than anything else she's ever tasted in her life and the dynamic scene around her makes the meal even more enjoyable.

Denmark has to be shown how to use the long metal forks several times – much to everyone's amusement. Yet he's the first one to laugh the second someone else drops their piece of bread into the fondue.

And when he challenges Sweden to a duel using the fondue forks, Anni find herself cheering along with the rest as the two tallest men battle it out with the sharp utensils.

In her mind she can hear her brother yelling at her for being so familiar with her kidnappers, and for enjoying herself in their presence. Yet it's so easy to forget they're the bad guys when Finland places a new fondue pot on the table - filled with melted chocolate – and a plate full of fruit to go with it.

Truly; they either have some grand masterplan in mind to treat her like this, or they're all idiots. Anni decides to pretend for the moment that they're this friendly with anyone - it makes staying here less nervewrecking.

They're in the middle of dessert when the doorbell rings.

Norway slowly places his glass down before rising from the table – worry etched into his features as he looks across the table at Denmark.

"Ice...stay here with Miss Zwingli" he orders as he motions for the other Nordics to follow after him.

Anni can't help but flinch out of fear when she notices both Finland and Sweden draw guns – seemingly out of nowhere.

When everyone's left the kitchen, Iceland rises from his seat and quietly sneaks over to the door, peering out into the large hallway.

The sound of the front door opening is completely drowned by a loud voice.

"Well hello there Norway!" the voice sounds happy – a bit like Finland but with a completely different accent.

"Spain..shut up – these bastards don't deserve pleasant greetings." a second voice sounds as Anni sneaks up to the door with Iceland and peers out into the hallway as well.

A tall and tanned man is standing in the open doorway – flanked by two near identical men on each side. From her position the only distinguishing features to tell the two men apart is that one is smiling happily while the other one looks as if he could turn milk sour by just glaring.

"Aww, Romano! Don't be like that to Boss."

"Shut up fratello – he's an idiot..."

"Why are you here?" Norway finally inquires as he's joined in the doorway by Denmark. Sweden and Finland have positioned themselves slightly further back into the hallway – visible to Haldur and Anni, but not to the three men in the doorway.

"We're here for the girl." a fourth male adds as he steps into view. He towers over the other more tanned males, his spiky hair only adding to his already intimidating height.

"Girl? What on earth are you talking about Netherlands?" Norway replies coolly as he crosses his arms – meeting the taller male with the same intense glare.

"Don't play stupid Norway..." Netherlands responds as he lights his pipe slowly.

"We know you have the girl." the angry looking Italian grumpily cuts in.

Denmark laughs and throws his arm around Norway's shoulders.

"You four honestly think we'd have a girl amongst our ranks? Man, Netherlands...I know you smoke, but you need to lay off the hard stuff if you think we've got some girl here...although, do send your sister over some time – wouldn't mind her to visit unexpectedly."

The tall Dutchman frowns deeply, but before he can grab a hold of the Dane's shirt he's stopped by the slightly shorter Mediterranean male.

"Let's leave dear Belgium out of this...we all know she's not the girl we're looking for."

"Well then Spain...why don't you enlighten us about this girl you are looking for." Norway enquires with venom in his voice

"Miss Anni Vogel Zwingli!" The happy looking Italian blurts out with a wide smile.

"Dude...the Swiss policeman's daughter?" Denmark asks with confusion.

"His sister actually..." Netherlands states coolly – obviously not amused the slightest by the Dane's ignorance.

"She's not here...go look for her somewhere else." Norway's hand twitches behind his back in anger and Anni notices Finland is quietly loading his gun.

"Yeah, have you tried the Soviet Mansion?" Denmark helpfully adds with a large grin across his face.

The two Italians visibly flinch and take a step back, hiding behind Spain as they mumble something in their own language.

"We'll visit them later." Spain replies as his eyes narrow angrily upward at Denmark.

"Well, if little Miss Zwingli is not here then you won't mind us coming in to take a look." the spiky haired man states as he takes a step inside the mansion.

He's greeted by a gun to his forehead – Anni didn't even see Denmark draw the weapon, and judging by Netherlands expression: neither did he.

"Can't let you do that." The Dane's voice is dead serious as he draws the lock back – the metallic click resonating through the large hallway.

"Take one more step and we will have every right to blast your brains out."

Finland steps out of his hiding spot, his gun's laser pointer pointed directly onto the Dutchman's forehead.

Netherlands hands are slowly raised in the air as he takes a step backwards – exiting the door as Finland's laser is still pointed right in the centre of his forehead.

"No need to be so cold." He remarks as he lowers his hands once he's outside once again.

"No need to trespass without permission." Finland retorts back with a snarl.

"No need to spill blood unnecessarily." Spain takes a step backwards as he speaks, pushing the two Italians backwards in the process "We'll take our leave, just be sure to tell us if you see the girl...she's...important."

"We'll keep you...informed." Norway dully states as he closes the door.

For a few minutes no one says a single word as they listen to four footsteps cross the gravel and a car is revved to life.

Iceland takes a step out into the hallway and gives the other gang members a worried look.

"They seem dead set on having Anni..."

Norway only nods as he locks the several locks on the front door.

Once it's secured he turns to Finland with a solemn expression.

"Finland...I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to invite Russia over for a meeting."

The happy Finn's smile is nowhere to be seen as he visibly pales at the mere mention of the name, but he finally manages to slowly nod his head.

"I understand. as long as I...don't have to be in the room." he swallows nervously as his expression darkens - clutching the gun protectively to his side.

"Far from it," Norway shakes his head before pointing at Sweden and Denmark. "They'll be more than enough."

Anni wants to ask what's going on – but before she gets the change, Haldur grabs her by the hand and pulls her along up the stairs.

Not until they're both inside the room does he let go of her hand. Rubbing her sore wrist from his strong grasp, she looks at him worriedly as she sits down on the bed.

"Who...who where they?"

"Bad people." Haldur whispers softly.

Staring at her feet she considers his words for a moment.

"How...how can you say that? You're no better..." she whispers back, already curling up around herself – expecting him to lash out at her any second for stepping 'out of line' or something like that.

Haldur makes a strange sound from the back of his throat and Anni closes her eyes tightly in fear – her heart racing.

Unexpectedly his fist doesn't connect with her face at all – instead he kneels down and hugs her petite frame tightly.

She tenses at the sudden contact, but after a few seconds she relaxes in his embrace.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you everything – but I have my orders..." his words are soft – only barely above a whisper as she feels his hot breath against her neck.

"I can't trust you, my brother said no crooks can be trusted." Despite the harsh words Anni doesn't want to believe them herself. While the Nordic men have been the ones to kidnap her – they have done little else to harm her. No beatings of any kind have happened – even if they have proved to enjoy fighting amongst themselves about the smallest of things.

She wants to believe Haldur - believe that he's one of the 'good guys' and doing good – yet every thing she's ever learnt is telling her to kick and scream at him.

The white haired youth pulls away from her; his hands still lingering on her shoulders as his indigo eyes meet her green ones.

"I won't hurt you...neither will my family. We don't hurt our own family, and right now you're our family."

His words are so sincere, full of raw emotion as he once again pulls her into a tight embrace. This time Anni doesn't tense the slightest. Instead she sinks down onto the floor with him - wrapping her own arms around his waist as she presses her head against his chest.

They stay like that till Finland knock on her door and tells Iceland to hurry up – they need to prepare for the guests tomorrow.

As he whispers good night, Haldur lifts her hand to his lips and plants a soft kiss to her hand before leaving.

For what seems like hours, Anni remains on the floor, staring at her hand as if it's on fire. Everything is so confusing. It's as if everything Basch ever told her is a lie – because even if she knows the dangerous of falling for her captors, she can not see how someone like Haldur could be lying when he speaks to her like that.

Confused and dazed she climbs into bed, head spinning as she tosses and turns till the sandman finally drags her into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_dun du du dunnn... meet the Medeterenian family. they will feature more later 8D_

_and get ready for The 'Soviets' 8D_

_(Life withouth internet makes me write really strange things. sorry about that)_


	4. Chapter 4

For the first time since coming to the Nordic Mansion – Anni is not woken up by anyone.

Rolling over in her bed she does a double take when she notices the time. Ten o'clock. Usually Haldur wakes her around eight – nine if she went to bed late.

Throwing the covers away she has a quick shower and gets dressed in a hurry – barely bothering to brush her hair before she makes her way downstairs.

As her feet touch the bottom floor she hears voices from the kitchen.

"Look, I don't like it – but Nor has a point. We need to throw them off the trail" Anni recognises the voice as Denmark's – she knows she shouldn't listen to other people's conversations; however this is a matter that seems to concern herself. So she's going to push her good manners away and listen. Besides – they kidnapped her; not as if that entitles her to behave well mannered in return.

"Throw them off the trail?" Finland's voice is not as happy as it usually is "They've already been here! No other trails exist but the one leading to our place! Russia won't change that!" the Finnish man sounds desperate for something – as if he's scared or angry. It's hard to determine without seeing his expression.

"Finland...please...I know you're not on the best terms with Russia..." Norway's cold voice interjects

"Understatement of the year." The Finnish male mutters angrily

Norway sighs

"Just hear me out..."

Anni can't hear anything, but she presumes they all just nodded in agreement, because Norway continues speaking seconds later

"Russia owes me a favour, and considering he's got two sisters it shouldn't be too difficult for them to create a false trail away from us."

"I doubt he'd allow that plan, he cares for his family." Sweden interjects before falling silent again.

"If they do it correctly no one will be in danger." Norway adds sharply and Anni winces as she can only imagine the icy glare the Nordic man must be giving the others.

"All in favour, raise your hand..." Denmark commands and Anni can hear slight ruffling of fabric and chairs moving as the others undoubtedly raise their hand in agreement.

"Great, then we all agree." the Dane concludes.

"I'll go wake Anni then..." The petite female blinks in fear as she hears Haldur rise from his seat while speaking. With careful steps she makes it back to the staircase before the kitchen door opens, but the frightened look on her face tell Iceland she's at least heard some of their conversation.

As he turns around in the doorway, Anni holds her breath in fear and anticipation

"Oi, can someone get something good ready for breakfast? She'll probably be really hungry for waiting so long..."

She can't believe her eyes as Iceland slowly closes the door and silently makes his way over to her, grabbing her gently by the hand and pulling her upstairs quickly.

Once they're upstairs and behind closed doors he turns to face her, a hint of anger present in his eyes.

"Didn't your brother tell you eavesdropping is rude?" despite the low and soft whispers of his voice, she can still detect the anger underlying every syllable.

"I don't like being kept in the dark." she hisses back with new-found courage. Haldur has never hurt her, even if his grip on her hand is becoming slightly painful it's not unbearable.

"It's for your own protection!" He growls back at her and tightens his grip on her hand.

"Protection from what and who? I don't see how you guys kidnapping me protects me from anything." she spits back, ignoring the numbing feeling in her hand.

"For your own good we can't tell you that! You know that."

Anni fumes with frustration and anger at his words – they mean nothing to her but more secrets. Raising her free hand she slaps Haldur across the face with all her might.

The white haired youth yelps and lets go of her hand, rubbing his sore and already reddening face.

"I'm old enough to take care of myself! I think I'm entitled to know what good you kidnapping me is!" she demands as she holds a stern glare against the taller male.

Iceland seems confounded by her words as he sinks down on the edge of her bed.

"It wasn't our original plan." he mumbles after a while.

"What wasn't the plan?" Anni enquires sternly – like a teacher berating a student for not doing his homework.

"We were supposed to let you come on your own accord...kidnapping was a last minute order when things went astray..."

"Elaborate please."

"Spain and his family were further ahead in their investigation than we had initially thought, so we didn't have any choice. Finland and Sweden tried to slow them down, but that only worked for a while..."

As he speaks a few pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

She'd been on her way home from work when the gunshots rang through the streets. At first she'd though it might have been from one of the men she had initially thought was stalking her – yet when she turned to look he was gone.

When the gunshots grew nearer she had panicked and ran. Voices had ordered her to stop – but she refused to listen and ran as fast as her legs would allow.

"But why me?" she shakily asks as her expression soften.

"Because you're very important..."

"To whom?"

"Your Family" Haldur meets her eyes for a brief second before his gaze is again diverted to the floor "and me..." he mumbles so softly the blonde girl can barely make it out. However there is no doubt it's what he said.

Forgotten is this 'family' he spoke off, all she wants to know is why he said those last to words.

"To you? How can I be important to you? You've known me for less than a week..."

Haldur shakes his head. Taking a seat next to him on her bed, Anni can see the profound blush on the Nordic's features as he tries to hide it with his white bangs.

"We...we've met before...several times."

Anni blinks several times and tries to conjure up memories of having met someone like Haldur in the past. "A-Are you sure...I mean, I don't remember it."

"No..of course you wouldn't. We were really young..." he sighs before rising from the bed.

Before she can think her hand dart out to grab the edge of his shirt, her grip firm as she stops him from getting too far away from her.

"I'm eighteen...if we met when we were younger and only you remember...how much older than me are you?" she enquires carefully as she studies his still blushing features. She wants to remember this so badly.

"Two years...you where six at the time..I'd just turned 8..." his gaze shifts away from her as he tries to make her let go of her shirt.

Anni doesn't know what to say

"Sorry" she mumbles as she let's go of his shirt, letting him leave the room.

As the clock ticks away, Anni tries to remember anything about a white haired boy from when she was six.

They'd moved around a lot when she was younger – Basch got jobs dotted around the world and they were on the move until she was 14. Perhaps she had met Haldur when she was younger. It was a possibility – and he had no reason to lie about such a thing.

It took her another hour before she made her way downstairs. Finland smiling cheerily at her as he handed her a bowl of soured cream porridge – a dish she'd been served the other day and taken a great liking to.

Eating her breakfast it slowly dawned on her that Haldur had not mentioned to the other Nordics at all that she had over heard their conversation. In a way it furthered her proof to her own mind that he was on her side – that he really did only have the best of intentions for her.

It's around dinner time that the 'guests' arrive.

Anni is told to stay away and considering the stern glare in Norway's eyes as he commands everyone about; the petite woman decides to do as she's told.

Besides; Finland seems more than happy enough to have someone join him in preparing the meal.

Scraping the thin skin of the new potatoes, Anni clears her throat slightly – gaining the attention from Tino.

"Something wrong Miss Anni?"

"Pardon me if this is out of line...but who is this 'Russia' and why don't you like him'?"

Finland's expression darken as his grip on the wooden spoon stirring the sauce tightens considerably – to the point it seems as if it will snap at any second.

"He's the worst man in the northern part of the city" he finally spits out.

Its frightening to hear the normally cheery Finnish male so angry and bitter.

"What happened...?" she carefully enquires as she drops a ready peeled potato into a pot of water.

A minute of silence follow after her question, and for a while Anni thinks she's over stepped the boundaries with her curiosity.

Then with a sigh Finland starts to speak.

"I used to work on my own...anyone with the right amount of money could hire my mercenary services. It was a pretty good deal – I chose my own missions, did as I wanted and no one controlled anything. Then Russia came along and demanded any 'lone wolf' in the area to join him. Of course I resisted – gave a damn good fight too I'll have you know..."

"But...you seem so scared of him..."

The Finnish male scrunches up his face as he spits his words out

"Ivan Braginsky...that's his real name. He's got more money than you'd imagine...his strength is immense and his contacts even more so. He ruined everything. I won the battle – yet he won the war."

The name is spoken with such venom it's painfully clear to her now – Finland isn't scared; just very, very angry.

"What do you mean?"

"All my reputation, all the money I had – everything I'd worked so hard to achieve: he tore down in days. He was unstoppable..."

"How did you end up with Denmark and the rest then?" he's answered her other questions, so perhaps she'll get to know more about him like this. It's a lot easier to stay around the Nordic gang members when their past is less of a mystery.

"Sweden is an old acquaintance of mine...we go far back. Somewhere along the line he was recruited into Denmark's 'family' and when he heard about my run-in with Ivan he convinced Denmark and Norway to give me a position here"

Anni blinks stares at Tino in confusion.

"Denmark's family?"

"Oh right...I guess it's not that apparent... But Denmark is the head of our Family"

"But..but..Norway?" As far as she's seen it's the shorter Nordic who gives orders and spends hours in the large office at the end of the hallway sorting out paperwork.

"Yeah, Norway takes care of a lot of things – he's kinda the voice of reason. But in an emergency Denmark's word is law."

"Wow" she breathes out in awe – this changes a few things of her image of them all.

She didn't think Denmark would follow orders from anyone 'below' him – nor did she even imagine someone as structured and strict as Norway would allow himself to have a family 'head' like Denmark.

"Doesn't matter – Denmark liked Norway's idea; so we'll follow it."

"But Tino... if Russia is so bad...why is Norway making him help you all...?" it really doesn't make sense in her head.

"Because Denmark and Russia have been drinking buddies since before they could legally drink anything alcoholic; not to mention that Norway knows a lot of people."

"Do..do you think he'll do what they ask?"

"I presume so...Norway is good at convincing people..." the Finnish male shrugs

For a the remainder of the hour they try to change the subject to something more cheerful. Something Finland manages once he tells Anni about his great adventures as a mercenary in the Finnish mountains.

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So...Erik..let me get this straight...you want myself to risk the lives of my dear and precious sisters to make Antonio lose track of this little policeman's sister? I do not see how it will gain the Soviet's at all." the Russian's voice is oddly cheery, with a smile to match.  
>The underlying tone is far from those things – it sends shivers down Iceland's spine as he tries to sit upright in the chair next to Norway.<p>

"You have misunderstood me then Ivan," Norway replies with a calm demeanour,

"-neither you nor your family will be at risk. All you need is for someone in your family to disguise themselves as Anni, travel to an airport where someone else in your family takes pictures of them. These pictures are then sent to Antonio's mansion. Even if he might not believe it a hundred percent – it should throw him off our trail for the time being. We need time, nothing else."

The tall male taps his fingers against the table in a slow rhythm as he considers the operation.

"I can see how it would work, but what is in it for me?"

"A connection and a deal with Cuba." Norway states flatly in response.

"The gun supplier?" The Russian's eyes light up like stars at the mention of the name.

"Correct. Guns and a few other...goods. I have the connection you want...all I ask in return is that you throw Spain off our trail for a couple of days."

"It will be done!" Russia rises up from his chair and extends his hand across the table. Shaking Norway and Denmark's hand in turn. To Iceland he simply smiles happily before turning to his right hand helper, Lithuania.

"Liet – arrange flights, photographers and a few dresses."

"Who's going to wear the dress?" the brunette male asks worriedly.

"I'm sure Poland will do it for a few crates of vodka for his bar," Russia giggles happily.

"If not, Latvia will do it." the tall male shrugs with a bright smile.  
>Iceland can't help but pity Latvia. He's met the young man on a few occasions up through the years – they're rather close in age, thus find it easier to connect. He says a silent prayer that he's under the protection of Denmark and Norway – thus no other family can force him to join. The gods know Russia has tried before.<p>

"Of course." Lithuania agrees warily as he presses a few buttons on his phone.

"Pleasure doing business with you Nordics." the large Russian male laughs as he slaps a large hand against Denmark's back.

"Always a pleasure Ivan." Denmark laughs back with as much enthusiasm as Russia.

"We need to go drinking again!"

"That we do! Once all this blows over and our mission is over I'll definitively come over for a drink!" the Dane smiles happily as he shakes Ivan's hand again before the soviet leader takes his leave through the front door.

Once the door is closed and bolted up again Norway turns to Denmark with a bitter expression.

"One drink? What a lie..."

"Oh come on Nor! I'm not that bad!"

The Dane replies as he follows after the shorter male into the kitchen. Anni watches in amusement, but tries to hide slightly when Iceland enters a moment after them.

"I had to rescue you out of a tree the last time you went drinking with Ivan." Norway rolls his eyes and takes his seat by the dinner table.

"All right...but that only happened once..." Denmark laughs sheepishly

"Just remember we're not rescuing you again." Sweden adds with a slight smirk.

"Oi, I'm the boss! You're all supposed to help me when I'm in need!"

"Not when it involves Russia." Finland states flatly as he places the dinner on the table.

Anni giggles quietly to herself as Denmark pouts at his family member's harsh words.

It's still odd to think he's the leader and ultimate decision maker. Perhaps she'll enquire with Haldur tomorrow about why they follow him. If the white haired male is willing to meet her eye.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_Badass Finland needs more love, so I tried to find a valid reason for him to dislike Ivan - and hopefully it worked._

_I also personally adore the idea of Finland as a mercenary/sniper._


	5. Chapter 5

To her great – and pleasant – surprise; it's Haldur that once again arrives in the morning to wake her. He doesn't meet her eye, but he stays in her room until she's finished getting ready – giving her the slightest hope he's not angry at her for being unable to remember something from when she was six.

However her hopes are quickly shattered when he disappears from sight the second she's seated in the kitchen for breakfast.

When she enquires about his whereabouts all she gets is a shrug and an unhelpful 'don't know' from the rest.

He only re-appears from thin air whenever either Norway needs him – or Anni needs to be fetched down for food.

It's been three days since Russia visited and she's only seen Haldur in the mornings.

Today she's determined to not let him out of her sight.

Walking downstairs with determination to get herself some lunch, she doesn't pay attention to her whereabouts and runs head first into someone's back.

Cranking her head backwards she first thinks she's ran into Denmark – it looks like him from behind; however, as the man slowly turns around she lets out a squeak of fright.

The tall and intimidating man from the other day is standing in the doorway to the kitchen – smoking his pipe as if he owns the place.

"Well hello there little Miss Zwingli" the man she recognises and remembers as Netherlands looks down at her with a smirk.

Dazed, confused and terribly frightened she slowly edges away until her back hit's another obstacle.

Spinning around she's met by a blonde woman smiling sweetly down at her.

"Oh my God! Is this really her?" the blonde woman asks excitedly as she claps her hands together.

A gruff sound of confirmation is heard from the spiky haired man.

"No wonder everyone is so protective over her. She's so cute!" the female adds before hugging Anni tightly.

"Knock it off Belgium." a cold voice commands as Norway steps into view, followed by a smiling Denmark carrying a crate of beer.

Belgium releases the petite girl from her grasp and puts in the Norwegian's direction.

"Awww, Erik! You're no fun!" she whines.

"Ignore him Zus, he's always been a killjoy." the tall Dutchman adds with a light chuckle as he helps himself to a beer from the crate Denmark is carrying.

"What..what's going on?" Anni looks back and forth in confusion at the two newcomers. A few days ago Finland and Denmark had a gun pointed at Netherlands – yet here he is drinking a beer as if he's part of the Nordic family.

"Preben! You mean you haven't informed this sweet little girl about who we are?" Belgium frowns deeply and delivers a swift kick to the Dane's shin - causing the taller male to flinch and almost drop the crate of beer.

"The less she knows at this stage the better." Norway cuts in before he grabs the crate of beer from Denmark's hands – allowing him to rub his bruised leg.

"Nonsense! She has a right to know." Belgium huffs. Anni can't help but smile at the other female's words – it's been a while since someone thought she should be informed about things.

Within minutes she finds herself in the living room next to Belgium – who after a while introduces herself as Margreet – with a warm cup of hot chocolate curtsey of Norway when she refused the bottle of beer offered to her.

"Living with all these vile men...you must be having a horrible time." Margreet states with a wicked grin in Norway and Denmark's direction.

"They've been nice actually." Anni softly replies as she warms her hand on the large mug of hot chocolate.

"Nice? You including Norway in that as well?" the older female stares in shock.

"Yes..." she replies with a hint of uncertainly. Form the corner of her eye she can see Norway's cold glare directed at Belgium – Netherlands and Denmark seem to be having a drinking contests, not sparing the other three people in the room any thought as they down bottle by bottle – laughing and joking between themselves.

"Since when did you do 'nice' Erik?" the blonde female turns to face Norway, a playful grin on her lips as she plays with the bottle in her hands.

"Since forever. But only to people worthy of it." he coolly replies before taking a large gulp of his own beer.

Belgium frowns momentarily before rolling her eyes, mouthing the word 'men' towards Anni – making the younger female giggle.

"Anyway, Mr Stick-in-the-Mud over here obviously doesn't like talking, so I'll do the talking for him." Margreet smiles warmly as she inches closer to Anni on the sofa.

"God knows you do enough of that already." the Nordic man mutters into his bottle with a blank expression.

"Oh shut up, warm up a little." Belgium blows a loose piece of hair from her eyes and waves lazily towards Norway.

Erik sighs but doesn't utter any more snide remarks, except one towards Denmark about not drinking too much in one go.

"Anyway, Anni...you must have so many questions."

"I do" she admits quietly. On one hand she wants to know more about everything – on the other hand she's worried that Haldur and Erik might be in the right in keeping her in the dark for the time being.

"Well, can't answer them all...not my place to do so and Norway would kill me if I said too much."

"And then I'd kill him." Netherlands interjects

"I'm not the one who gave us this 'mission'." Norway replies slowly, sending a glare in the Dutchman's direction.

Belgium shakes her head and tells the two of them to stop bickering like little children – Netherlands frowns before a new bottle is thrust into his hands by Denmark and all un-pleasantries are drowned by more alcohol.

"First of all; you might have gathered we're part of Spain's 'Family'..."

Anni nods – she heard Belgium mentioned and she saw Netherlands with the Spaniard and the Italians.

"...Well...a bit like how Finland worked on his own before joining the Nordics – my brother and I did the same. However, unlike Finland who joined willingly we didn't have as much choice," the older female sighs and reaches for a new bottle of beer.

"So we decided to carry out with our old jobs while under Spain's 'rule'."

"What is your jobs?" Anni asks curiously, it must be rather fascinating if it somehow allows them to be here when their boss is looking for her.

"Information." Belgium smiles

"And blackmail." Netherlands adds with a smirk and a low chuckle.

"We're loyal to who we please." Margreet laughs and takes a sip of her beer.

"For the time being it's still convenient to pretend to be Spain's 'lackeys', but once this whole thing blows over we'll disappear." the Dutchman waves his hands – almost hitting Denmark's head with the beer bottle.

"You could join us!" The loud Dane exclaims, waving his bottle around excitedly.

"In your dreams you idiot." Netherlands replies as he punches Denmark in the arm playfully.

"Awww, why not Willem? We'd have so much fun." the Dane replies with a fake pout.

"Because Margreet would eat your little right hand man with ease." Willem smirks in reply as he gestures towards Norway.

"That sounded more like an insult to her than me." Norway remarks smugly, earning him a pillow to the face from Belgium.

Anni is daunted by the scene in front of her, giggling as the older men and woman interact like the best of friends and the worst of enemies all at the same time.

Even if Margreet and Willem shed light on a few things – by the end of the siblings visit she's none the wiser about her role in this 'mission' or 'task' they all refer to.

Placing her used mug in the dishwasher she notices something move in the corner of her eye. Turning around quickly she blinks a few times before smiling.

Iceland is standing in the kitchen – a strange bird with a colourful beak perched on his shoulder as he's arm deep in the fridge.

The second their eyes meet, he turns away – his face burning as he tries to be as quick as possible with finding food for the bird.

Frowning she makes her way over to him, grabbing his sleeve tightly.

"You're avoiding me." she states flatly, she'd never imagine she'd actually be so angry about someone like him avoiding her – but she is – and she wants to get to the bottom of why he's avoiding her.

"I'm not," he mumbles as he manages to find a box of sardines with his freehand " I've just been busy."

"Busy with what exactly?" All the other members of the Family are often occupied with loads of work – but she still sees them all more than she sees Haldur.

"You know...gang-related stuff...you wouldn't like it."

"Try me." it's an upright challenge – and Iceland knows it.

"Why? Doesn't matter to you what I do...I'm one of the bad guys, remember?" even if his words are the truth, Anni can't help but loosen her grip on his sleeve in defeat. She said so herself that she couldn't trust him – that he was the enemy. Still she finds herself pained when he repeats the words back to her – the weight and reality of them sinking into her like a heavy burden.

"It's not true..." she whispers, her free hand clenched against her chest.

"Oh so you changed your mind? Well, guess I'll be your friend till you decide otherwise." he spits back angrily

"Shut up!" her hand flies to her mouth immediately after the words leave her mouth. Haldur seems to be just as surprised as her at her sudden loud outburst of anger.

"It's confusing. No one tells me anything – I don't know who to believe any more..." she releases his sleeve and stares at the floor solemnly.

Everything her brother taught her has more or less been contradicted. Sure enough the Nordics where terrifying at first, yet even after a short while she's gotten to know most of them fairly well. She can name both Tino and Berwald's home towns from their respective countries, she's learn what Denmark's favourite meals are (and discovered the leader of the Mafia is actually pretty good at baking pastries) – she even knows Norway's age. A fact that Denmark admitted took him a long time to figure out (and according to Sweden, the Dane needed a calculator.)

Haldur shifts his weight back and forth before the bird on his shoulder is pushed away. Anni doesn't move at all as he embraces her petite frame tightly, instead welcoming the warmth from his body as he holds her flush against him.

"You can believe me..." he whispers softly as she buries her head in the crook of his neck.

His breath is almost cold against her warm skin, making her skin tingle and her hair stand on end.

"I just want the truth."

"I doubt you'll like it."

"Do you like the truth?"

"About you? No..." he admits after a while

"Why not?"

"Because you then don't need me..." he trails off as he pulls away from her, his indigo eyes meeting hers with a forlorn expression. For a second Anni swears she can see the traces of a young boy in those eyes – a child who knows something about her that she herself doesn't. It's unsettling and comforting at the same time.

"What if I do still need you?"

"Then I'll stay by your side...family's honour," Haldur smiles slightly as he places his right hand over his heart "If I break it you have the right to take my life."

Anni gasps in fear and pulls his hand away from his heart, grasping his larger hand with her elegant and delicate fingers.

"Don't say such things," she scolds "You're not allowed to say things like that... I don't want you dead."

"Telling the truth is kinda breaking the Omertà anyway..."

"Omertà?" the word sound foreign to both his and her native tongues

"The vow of silence, in-between families we have our own laws of conduct – we don't rat others out – it would be against the code of honour."

"Is that how Belgium and Netherlands can come here, yet Spain doesn't know?"

Haldur nods "Yeah, you're getting the hang of this."

Smiling triumphantly, Anni gets a glint of mischief in her eyes as she pulls him down for a soft kiss.

Awkward and uncertain at first - before their lips melt together with more confidence as both realise the other person wants this just as much as they want it themselves.

Pulling apart, Anni giggles happily as she leans into his chest. Haldur is sporting a prominent blush, and she's dead certain she has one to match. But she doesn't care – because she feels safe in his arms. Nothing is going make her change her mind now – even if the truth hurts she still wants to be with Haldur. Still wants to see his shy and rare smile every day and listen to his comforting voice talk about everything and nothing.

Stockholm syndrome or not – she's happy right here and right now. That's all that matters.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_Omertà is fascinating – yet it's mostly just a code of honour to not tell cops about fellow criminals – but let's pretend it applies in this situation too. (I can claim it's artistic freedom 8D )_

_Also, not sure If I hinted at NorwayXNetherlands or NorwayXBelgium in this chapter... maybe both. oops  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6

"I don't wanna go!" the small white haired child whines loudly as he tugs at his older brother's sleeve with a pout, his eyes pleading his older brother to let him go anywhere but here..

"Complain all you like, you don't have much choice." the older male replies with a sigh.

"But you're just going to sit there with older people and talk. I'll be so bored!" he complains loudly as they walk up the neat and tidy pathway to the house.

Erik resists groaning and instead pats his younger brother lightly on the head.

"Mr Zwingli has a younger sister, you can play with her."

Haldur scrunches up his face in disgust.

"Eww, girls are icky."

The older male chuckles as he rings the doorbell,

"You won't think that forever..."

"Sure I will." the white haired boy mutters grumpily as he crosses his arms in a huff.

As the door flies open Haldur takes a step behind his brother and hides behind the taller male's legs.

"Can I help you?" the man in the doorway inquires with slight suspicion in his voice.

"Good day Mr Zwingli, I have a little money problem – and I was told you where the best one to solve it."

"Who told you that?" the Swiss man's eyes narrow dangerously at the newcomer, his hands clutching the doorknob tightly – ready to slam it in the man's face should it be needed.

"A certain Finnish acquaintance of mine." Erik replies smugly.

The green-eyed male's eyes dart from Erik to Haldur a few times before he opens the door for them fully – scanning the neighbourhood suspiciously.

"Come in then..."

"Many thanks." Erik bows his head in a polite nod as he enters the house, Haldur following close behind, clutching the older male's jacket with his tiny fist.

As the youngest of them plops down on the floor to untie his shoes he spots movement further down the hallway. A small blonde haired girl – her hair in pleats – peeking out from what looks like to be the living room before she abruptly disappears again.

Haldur immediately averts his gaze and focuses on getting his shoes and jacket of as quick as possible, his little feet running as quick as they can down the hallway to catch up with his brother and the strange angry-looking man.

The young boy hides behind his brother as he sees the young girl sitting on one of the chairs in the living room, her red and white striped dress pooling around her like a flower as she hums happily to herself. The stuffed bunny in her arms being hugged tightly.

"You must be Anni..." Erik smiles as he bends down to eye-level with the young girl – her older brother tensing immediately at the sudden movement by the Norwegian male.

Anni nods happily and smiles, holding her hand out for the older male to shake.

The Nordic man chuckles and takes her tiny hand in his much larger one, giving her a small peck on her hand. "Pleasure to meet you Princess." he smiles before straightening up.

"That's enough pleasantries Mr..." The Swiss male trails off.

"Mr Sørensen, but call me Erik."

"Well then Erik, what do you need help with?" The Swiss man crosses his arms and with his head, motions for the young girl to leave the room.

Anni nods as she gets the hint, jumping off the sofa – she's curious about this young boy in her house.

Haldur tries to hide behind Erik's legs, but with a sidestep and a push from the tall Norseman, he's suddenly face to face with the younger girl.

"You have pretty eyes." she states matter of factly as she smiles up at him.

Haldur's face immediately reddens as his older brother chuckles.

"Anni, take him outside or something. Mr Sørensen and I have work to."

"All right Basch" she replies as she grabs the white haired male by the hand, tugging him along outside to the garden.

"Cute." Erik remarks as the two children have left the room.

"Yes very," Basch replies with a hint of fondness in his voice, "now, you came here for other reasons than my sister, right? You mentioned Finland..."

Erik chuckles and takes a seat in one of the chairs, placing his briefcase on the table he quickly scrolls the metal circles to the right numbers and flips the clasps open.

"I have a few things the state don't need to know about...and it would be very beneficial for myself and my family if you did a little job for me..." as he speaks he brings out a stack of papers, flipping through them lazily he hands one handful over to the other male.

"This...this is a lot of money..." Basch stares at the papers given to him, skimming through each one to get an overview of just how much this Nordic man seems to be in possession off.

"Why yes, it most certainly is. Now, I heard you where an expert at 'cleaning'..."

"I'm not in that business any more." he replies flatly as he takes a seat opposite Erik, pushing the papers back to him over the table.

"Due to her?" the paler of the two motions towards the window where Anni and Haldur can be seen running around in the garden.

"Yes...if that white haired one is yours, you should understand."

"Yes he is, so I can certainly understand why you'd leave."

"Yet you stay? Don't you worry about his life?" Basch frowns deeply at the other male. Silently judging this stranger for letting a young child grow up in such a terrible environment.

Erik shakes his head and chuckles.

"Mr Zwingli, you had a chance to leave and get away from it – I either stay and give him a safe life, or I leave and leave it up to the authorities to take care of him. I'm sure you can see why I'd stay."

"You're part of Denmark's gang aren't you? I think I've heard about you...Norway was it?"

"Ahh, seems my reputation precedes me. I'm honoured and flattered."

"The cold-hearted killer and business man from the north – hardly flattery now is it?"

"And the sniper and money launderer is by any means better? Don't kid yourself Basch," the Nordic male smirks as he pushes the stack of paper back towards the Swiss man.

"You're still the best in the business."

"I don't gain anything by helping you." but despite the Swiss man's reluctant words, he does pick up the stack of papers again – examining them more closely.

"Sure you do – I will be in your depth...you should know the value of that," Erik smiles slyly as he crosses his legs, carefully observing the other man's movements.

"not to mention I can get you a more...secure job." he adds as he sees Basch eyes widen at the sight of one sum of money jotted down on one of the papers.

"I have no resume of any kind – a real job is impossible to get."

"It will require some travelling of course, but I can get you various jobs to earn a living from till you've built up a nice little resume to give to whatever employer you wish." Erik smiles coolly

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then we just get dear Netherlands to do a little job for us, simple as that." Erik chuckles darkly, making the Swiss man shudder slightly. No wonder the Nordic family is so feared despite their small size. What they lack in members they make up for in sheer personality and contacts.

"This kind of job will take time..." he mumbles as he traces a few words on the page with his finger.

"Time isn't my issue. I just need the right accounts and then I can take over the job myself – you start the gears, I keep them turning. After that you don't have to see me again unless you wish for it." The Norseman's voice is low and monotone, but Basch has done deals with people like him before – under the cold demeanour lurks something much more sinister.

"I'll make us some coffee and we'll go over the details..."

"Excellent." the Nordic man replies with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~

While the two adults talk, Haldur finds himself dragged into a game of tag by the young girl.

Despite her small body he's still tackled to the ground when she catches up to him.

"Would you kindly get off me?" he frowns as he tries to wriggle away

"Why is your hair white?" she enquires as she shifts her position, kneeling in front of him once he manages to sit upright in the short grass.

"I was born this way..." he mumbles and pulls at his white locks. People always stare when he goes out, old ladies remarking how different he is from his 'father' – until Erik points out they're brothers and there's nothing wrong with him at all. Not to mention how people at school call him names and refuse to play with the kid with hair like an old man.

Even if he tries to ignore them all, the comments always stick in the subconsciousness of his mind and whenever his brother cuts his hair he begs the older male to let him colour it to match Erik's.

"I like it, you look like one of the faeries from my book."

"I...what?" Haldur blinks in confusion before he pokes her forehead with a frown, toppling the smaller girl over. He finds her strange – no one apart from Erik ever links him to magical beings...

"Yeah! One of the pretty snow faeries! Your hair is like snow...Oh!" she suddenly jumps up with a determined look and runs off further down the garden.

The boy stares with wide eyes before he gets up from the ground and runs after her.

"Oi, wait up!"

Following her soft giggles he finally finds her kneeling in front of a flowerbed, picking all the white, purple and pink ones she can find.

"What are you doing? You're ruining the garden." Haldur glances towards the house worriedly. What is the angry man inside thinks it's him who's ruined the plants? He doesn't want trouble with someone that grumpy looking.

"I'm making a crown." Anni smiles and holds up the wreath of flowers she's working on.

Haldur takes a seat next to her with a sigh and examines some of the other flowers.

He jolts out of his day dreaming after a while when he feels something on his head.

"Look! We match!" Anni claps her hands happily as the white haired boy tries to see the wreath of flowers on his head – a similar one carefully laid onto her own head like a crown.

The young male can't help but smile at her words, there isn't anyone his own age at home – and even if this girl is younger than him, she's still a lot easier to be around than his brother or uncle Denmark and uncle Sweden.

"Come on, I'll show you my favourite place." Anni pulls the slightly taller boy up from the ground and drags him along.

Haldur doesn't even notice the time passing by as he's dragged around to endless adventurers by the petite girl. By the time Erik and Basch call for them to come inside, both are covered in dirt and leaves from climbing trees and hiding in bushes.

"Someone needs a bath..." Erik remarks with a chuckle as he sees the state of them both.

"We've been exploring our kingdom!" Anni smiles brightly, making her brother send a glare in the Norwegian males' direction – the Norseman takes no note of the glare, instead he kneels down to the children's eye level with a warm smile.

"Oh really? Is that true Haldur?"

"Yeah.." the white haired child mumbles shyly as she stares into the ground.

"Well, I'm afraid you have to say goodbye to your queen, its time for us to go."

"Aww, will you come back soon?" Anni inquires with genuine hope in her eyes as she hugs Haldur tightly, causing the older boy's cheeks to go from pale to bright red.

"Perhaps..." Erik pats the young girls head with a smile before straightening up, turning to face Basch with a sly smirk.

"It all depends on your brothers job."

Basch glares threateningly at the other male, but manages a semi-friendly smile in the Nordics direction. He doesn't want Anni to think anything is wrong.

"We will see..." he manages to reply without too much venom in his voice.

Waving goodbye to the two Nordics, Anni doesn't notice her brother's worried expression.

Nor does she think anything is strange when they move house a week later.

She's only more than happy to see Haldur every once in a while when he now comes along willingly with his older brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~

Her eyes flutter open as she suddenly sits up straight in her bed. Of course, she does remember Iceland.

The white haired ghost of a boy who went along with her strange adventure wasn't just a dream: he was real.

He'd been a part of her life before she started school – yet after that she never saw him again, and slowly but surely she forgot he was real. Instead he became a distant memory of an imaginary playmate from her many fairytale books. Basch had only encouraged the story of Haldur being a fiction of her imagination – and now she thinks she understands why.

She's still not sure why Norway would visit her brother all these years ago – perhaps she'll learn that soon.

Haldur promised her last night he'd be sure to get everyone to tell her the truth in the morning.

Throwing the covers away she's dressed and ready by the time Haldur knocks on her door.

She takes him by complete surprise when she pulls him down for a long kiss – breaking apart she smiles warmly up at him.

"I remember."

"Remember what?" he asks, confused and dazed by the morning kiss – not that he'd ever complain, it's one of the better ways to start the day.

"You...I remember you from when we were young...I thought you'd been a figment of my imagination, turns out you where as real as you are now." Anni leans against his chest and inhales the scent of his cologne.

Iceland gives a small laugh as he wraps his arms around her.

"Well, you did think I looked like a faery..."

"You still do." she teases

"Look who's talking." he retorts back with a smirk.

"My hair and eye colour are perfectly normal, unlike yours."

"Want me to change it then?"

"No way, I like you the way you are." Anni pulls away slightly so she can see eye to eye with him, his eyes are captivating – so alien yet so very familiar.

Haldur chuckles with amusement as he bends down for another kiss.

"Good, I kept it like this for you..."

The petite woman blushes at his words.

"Why?"

"You where the first one outside of my family who complimented me on them." he states with a smile as he runs his hand through her short hair.

Truthfully she doesn't want to leave her room yet – but she knows the others are waiting downstairs, and if Iceland did as he promised; they'll tell her the truth.

Taking a deep breath – she mentally prepares herself for what she presumes might be slight shock.

* * *

><p><em>A.N<em>

_If you haven't already guessed – the Nordics are a lot older than in 'cannon'. Ice is 8 in the flashback while Norway is 24 – which makes Nor 36 in the normal time line of this story._

_In case you're curious: Denmark is 38, Sweden: 37, while Finland is 34.  
>I also really love the idea of Norway being good with kids – but not so good with adults, and given this AU that head-cannon becomes even funnier.<em>


	7. Chapter 7

_A.N:_

_welcome to the last chapter of this story. there might be an epilogue and a few drabbles to flesh this AU out if I can be bothered/people want to know more. thanks for all reviews so far - I'm very glad you've enjoyed it so far 8D_

* * *

><p>"I..I'm what?" Anni exclaims as she stares in shock at Norway.<p>

Haldur squeezes her hand slightly in comfort, yet it doesn't lessen the shock.

"You're the grand daughter of the Second Head of the Germanic Family." Norway repeats with a dull expression, as if it's all old news.

"I..what- but...how can this be? No...wait, why didn't Basch tell me before? And why does this make me important?" more and more questions flood her mind as she tries to wrap her head around the fact that she's related to the one of the biggest and most powerful Mafia families out there.

"Because he 'left' the family to protect you." Finland adds with a warm smile.

The past days have been confusing and frightening – but now Anni is truly struggling to breathe normally, let alone think rationally.

"I think we should start from the beginning...how much do you know about the Germanics?" Norway seems downright excited to be allowed to tell a story.

"I know Germania was the one who founded the family and first brought it to it's greatness, then it was passed on to a very young heir...who went missing. That's all I know." she admits with a sigh – Mafia history isn't taught at school – but everyone still knows about most of the bigger ones.

"Holy Roman Empire, he made it what it really is today – and you're right, he was very, very young when he took over the position." Norway nods as he elaborates on the facts she already knew.

"So...where do I come in?"

"You're his granddaughter," Denmark adds with a grin "which actually makes us two related."

Anni almost chokes on her tea as she stares in shock at Denmark.

"Ah, forgot to add that didn't I?" he laughs sheepishly before the cocky grin is back full force.

"Germania was my great-granduncle...so we're related, very distantly, but still related."

"Obviously his side of the family got all the stupid." Iceland mutters under his breath, the comment earns him a frown from Denmark and a chuckle from Sweden and Norway.

"But back to the original story," Norway cuts in as he rolls his eyes at their pouting 'leader'.

"Before HRE went missing he left a will – and it states that the next girl born into the family was to inherit the leadership of the family."

"And as you can probably guess; you're the first girl." Finland adds helpfully with a smile.

"Why leave it to a woman?" she asks, Belgium might fit the 'gangster' life pretty well, but it still seems strange to have a female Head.

"Oh! I know this one! Let me tell this!" Denmark eagerly waves his hands back and forth in triumph.

"Oh for the love of Odin." Erik mutters "Go on then Preben...tell her the god damn rumour."

"Well you see, the story goes that HRE was in love with this beautiful Italian girl, sadly she belonged to Rome's family – so he couldn't have her. It broke his heart and before he disappeared he wished for his own family to be ruled by the next female to come along – sadly he only had sons himself...until you came along!" Denmark grins from ear to ear, satisfied with his storytelling.

"The story goes the Italian woman disappeared around the same time...but no one has ever been able to confirm that rumour." Sweden adds in a low mumble.

"Your brother didn't think growing up in such a place was a good idea – so when he had the chance he took you and ran..." Iceland adds quietly.

"Ran and ran...he had permission to leave. Austria and Germany – the two who alternate between leading the family now-a-days - though it was only right you'd get a change at a normal childhood, and ultimately choose your own path once you were old enough." Norway corrected, his eyes meeting Anni's as she listens intently to his voice.

It's daunting to think she ultimately hold the same power as Denmark. Somewhere out there is a family of gangsters who have to follow her every order should she take that position. The very thought sends shivers down her spine – a mix between fear and gleeful anticipation.

"Did...did you do the same?" she enquires towards the cold Norseman, glancing over at Haldur beside her.

"No, I didn't..."

"Oh" she breathes quietly – he's two years older than her and can probably take much better care of herself than she can, yet she still feels sorry for him. Sorry because he didn't have a choice.

"Why?" she asks bluntly, meeting Norway's dull blue eyes with her intense green ones.

"Because not all things are easy to leave behind." he replies flatly, Anni thinks it must be her imagination; but she's sure there's a hint of sadness in his voice.

She squeezes the white haired males' hand tightly, hoping he understands the comfort she's trying to provide.

"One more question...if I may?"

"Go ahead" Denmark grins.

"Why did you..uh..kidnap me?"

"Ah, excellent question..." the Dane scratches his head and turns to Norway for help to explain.

"Haldur said it wasn't part of the original plan..."

"And he's right," Norway interjects as he elbows Preben in the side to make the taller male stop pestering him "Basch initially only wanted us to keep you safe till he could arrange for you to meet your 'Family' – however when the Mediterranean Family found out about you they thought it would be a perfect opportunity to make a move on the Germanic's land and borders of influence – they've been at 'war' since Germania and Rome founded the two groups."

"You mean they didn't know I existed?"

"No one did actually...there were rumours of course, but no one could confirm it." Tino adds as he fills his own glass with vodka.

"Except for Erik!" Denmark cuts in and throws an arm around the shorter male "I have the best right hand man in the world." he grins – not even flinching as Norway tries his best to push him away.

"Pure luck really...needed a favour from Basch and when I found him: lo and behold there you where too – the little heiress of the great Germanic empire." Norway adds with a small yet smug smile.

"Which bring us full circle as to why you're here with us." Haldur smiles slightly and points at Norway.

"Norway owed your brother a huge favour, so when he needed you to be safe, he contacted us..."

"What...exactly did my brother do for you to make you more or less risk your lives for me?" Anni can't see how her policeman brother could have done anything so important that the Nordics in return would go to such lengths to keep her safe.

"He ensured we could keep our grand fortune - that's curtsey mostly of Norway and his business skills." Tino replies as he takes a sip from his drink.

"Ensured? As in...?" she's almost scared to find out – her image of her law-abiding and respected brother being shattered bit by bit.

"Money laundering." the Norseman states, reaching for his cup of coffee – holding it out to Finland as the other Nordic pours a good bit of vodka into the cup for him.

"The best in the business." Denmark adds with a grin.

Anni can't believe her ears. Never mind she's supposed to lead a Mafia family; her brother is the undefeated champion in white-washing money!

"Oh, don't forget: he's also a pretty good mercenary." Tino smiles as he downs his glass of vodka like it was water – as far as she's gathered it's impossible to get Finland drunk.

"W-What?" she gasps in shock, thankful she's given up trying to drink her tea – she'd have choked and died by now if not.

"I worked with your brother on a few mission – his aim is pretty impressive."

It's a bit difficult to picture Tino and Basch getting on well. Tino seems to always be smiling, while her brother almost wears his frown as permanently as Sweden and Norway do – then again: Tino and Sweden seem to be really good at working together. Perhaps it's just how the Finnish male's personality work? His cheeriness is infectious.

Minutes pass as her brain processes all this new information. The Nordics thankfully don't press her to say anything – instead they re-fill their respective drinks and wait.

Finnally she looks up from her lap, squeezing Haldurs hand tightly she directs her question to the older men.

"So, what happens next? I mean: what do I do now?"

"It's a little up to you really, you can stay here for a while until your brother picks you up... or we can speed the process up and take you to your 'Family' ourselves." Norway explains calmly and clearly.

"Your brother doesn't know we've told you all of this yet – so if you want more time to think we can pretend you're still blissfully ignorant of all of this and let you stay here for a while longer." Denmark smiles warmly – right now Anni actually feels a bit bad for trying so hard to hurt him while he dragged her to the car. Thankfully he seems to bear no grudge.

"Can I have at least one day? I need to think about all of this..."

"Take as many day's as you want." Haldur replies warmly.

~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~

Staring out the window, Anni decides that her mind isn't going to be made up by looking at the view.

With light steps she makes her way to the part of the mansion where she knows Haldur sleeps.

She's unsure exactly of which room it is – yet as she walks down the corridor it becomes rather apparent.

Iceland's door is wide open as the white haired man lies on his stomach on his bed, feeding his pet bird sardines.

"Haldur?" she inquires carefully as she steps into view, glancing over the room for anything of interest.

Jerking his head up in surprise before smiling he beckons for her to come inside.

His room is painted a soft blue hue – giving the room a rather cold feel; Anni shivering slightly as she steps inside – it reminds her a little bit of a cold day in winter. Books are stacked everywhere, his two bookcases already overflowing – a few titles she recognises, others are in a different language with strange letters she can only guess how are pronounced.

The only thing that hints that this isn't just any young man's room is the crossbow hanging on the wall and the glass case full of daggers.

"Did you need something?" he asks, worry clear in his voice as he places the bird back in it's large cage by the window.

"I just need someone to talk to." she admits, biting her bottom lip worriedly as she tries to again make up her mind about what to do.

Haldur goes back to the bed, patting a spot beside him. Anni sighs and takes the seat next to him, resting her head against his chest as she lets him wrap one arm protectively around her shoulders.

"I don't know what to choose - this is the most difficult situation I've ever been in" her voice is tired and filled with worry. This isn't something as simple as what to wear in the morning – even choosing university was easier than this.

"Choose what you think will bring you more happiness..." he suggests softly

Mulling over his words for a few moments, Anni considers what really is the most important things in her life.

"Hey, Haldur?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like my brother did...can you leave the family?"

The Icelandic male goes quiet for a long while, making Anni's heart sink.

"I...I don't think so." he finally replies with an apologetic look.

"Why?"

"For more or less all my life I've done this," he waves his arm around; indicating to the weapons on display, "Like my brother there isn't much of a life waiting for me should I leave..."

"My brother managed." she interjects softly

"Yeah, because he's managed to play both sides of the law perfectly...Erik and me? Not so much" Haldur replies with a sigh

"You must have done a lot of awful things then..."

"Yeah...I have." he admits, but to her surprise that doesn't bother her at all – she's already come to accept his life has been very different from hers.

She'd wanted to ask him to come with her should she choose to turn her back on the unlawful life – but his heavy words are enough of an indication that it will be near impossible for them to live a normal life. Even she has now seen and heard enough to be unable to live like a normal woman again.

"Are the Germanic and the Nordic households at war?" she asks worriedly – she doesn't want to be expected to hurt any of the Nordic members; especially not Iceland.

"We've had a few clashes, but generally: No. we get on well" he replies with a smile.

"Good..."

A comfortable silence falls over the room as Anni pushes Haldur down on the bed, resting her head on his chest she can hear his heartbeat through his white shirt.

"What will you do if I choose to leave?"

"Follow you...somehow. I'll find a way"

"So you'll be my side no matter what the outcome?"

"Yeah," he replies with a low chuckle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head "no matter what."

"Then I've made up my mind." She props herself up slightly, looking down at the man below her with a soft smile.

The kiss he gives her is all the confirmation she needs that Haldur will follow her no matter what. Even if it might break a few 'rules' in the process.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_Anyone care to guess what she chooses? XD_

_Hope you all liked this - and I'll try to post an epilogue shortly_


	8. Epilogue

_A.N: Here we go: the very last chapter!_

* * *

><p>"Oi, Anni!" a loud voice shouts after her as she makes her way down the long hallway.<p>

Turning around she sees a familiar person with shock white hair.

"What is it Gilbert?" she inquires. It's been a long day – so unless Prussia has anything important to tell her she doesn't really have the patience for it.

"You have a visitor." the older male smiles gleefully down at her.

"At this hour? Who is it?"

"No idea...probably something diplomatic judging by his fancy suit." the German male shrugs as he motions in the general direction of her office.

"Are you telling me you let someone into our house to do business...at this hour?" Anni tries to keep her voice calm and collected, but Gilbert's antics are close to driving her to the edge of insanity.

"Trust me on this one Boss – you won't regret it." he winks at her before bowing low – taking his leave as quickly as possible.

With a sigh she straightens her black and white pinstriped suit jacket and skirt and makes her way back to her office.

Opening the door she becomes immediately suspicious – there are no lights lit at all. The only light source is the dull light from the moon shining through her window and the bright yellow light from the hallway.

Her hand automatically rests against the small gun in her pocket – surely Gilbert couldn't have as stupid as to let an enemy in at this time of night? Anni frowns as she scans her office for any signs of life.

Taking a few steps into her office she jumps in fright as the door slams shut, leaving the room to only be bathed in grey moonlight.

With quick reflexes she turns around – gun in hand as she tries to make her eyes adjust to the darkness.

"What a greeting I'm getting, not sure if I should be scared or honoured." a familiar voice chuckles as a figure steps out of the shadows.

"You!" she near screams as she lets her gun fall to the floor – embracing the male the second his pale white hair is visible in the soft hue from the moonlight.

"What are you doing here? I though you where in China...working with Hong Kong..."

"Norway took over the task, so I came back here..." Haldur smiles secretly as he wraps his arms around her waist and lifts her up in the air "Did I scare you?" he smirks as he spins her around in the empty office.

"Of course you did. You're such a creep!" she shoots back with a laugh as she allows him to carry her over to her desk.

"I was hoping to surprise you."

"By giving me a heart-attack? You've been spending too much time with Denmark."

"For your information: Prussia also loved the idea."

"And you listened to him?" Anni raises her eyebrow slightly as he puts her down on top of the desk, swinging her legs back and forth slightly.

"Nah, I know better than to follow his advice." the Nordic male chuckles as he leans down to steal a kiss.

Anni tries to frown disapprovingly, but his soft lips against hers make her forgive him for the fright he gave her. Lifting her arms, she wraps them around his neck and pull him further down to deepen the kiss.

"You're a terrible boyfriend." she remarks as they pull apart, yet the smile on her face reveal other wise.

"Are you breaking up with me? After all these years? My heart is shattered." he jokes back with a smirk.

"No way, I'm afraid you're mine and only mine."

"Really now? No room for women on the side?" Iceland cocks one eyebrow upwards in inquiry.

"No, I'll have them all vanish mysteriously." her expression deathly serious as she speaks, making Haldur laugh heartedly – a sound she's missed dearly.

"Spoken like the true leader you are. Seychelles will be so disappointed..." Haldur chuckles with a small grin.

Anni giggles happily as she rests her head against his chest.

"Well what's the use of all this power if I can't use it to make you mine and only mine? Besides, she's far too old for you..."

"Good point...Oh I don't know, take over the world maybe?" the Icelandic man suggests teasingly.

The blonde female shakes her head before she leans away from him, studying his features with a fond look.

"I'd rather have you..."

"That's just what I wanted to hear..."

Anni blinks in confusion as he suddenly kneels in front of her, producing a little black box from his pockets.

"Anni Vogel Zwingli, will you do me the honour and marry me?"

The petite woman gasps as her hands fly in front of her mouth – lest she should scream in happiness and wake the whole house up.

"Yes. Oh my god, yes." she replies breathlessly as she jumps off the desk and embraces him so eagerly they both topple over and onto the floor.

Haldur laughs as he finally manages to sit upright, Anni perched on his lap, legs around his waist as she still clings to him tightly.

"Give me your hand." he whispers softly as he pries the beautiful diamond encrusted white-gold ring from it's box.

Anni complies immediately, her eyes fixed on his movements as he slowly slides it onto her ring finger. Once it's in place she flexes her fingers – admiring the beauty of the piece of jewellery.

"It's gorgeous..." she whispers back before giving him another kiss – she just can't get enough of him, it's been agonising being so far apart for so long. She's not seen him in two months – and now he's here; in her own home – proposing. She has to pinch herself to ensure it's not all just a dream.

"Good, but are you sure you're all right with having just a 'low life' criminal like me for a husband?"

"Don't be stupid," Anni frowns slightly and prods the white haired male's chest with a well manicured nail "You promised you'd stay by my side for as long as I wanted you to, besides...you're far from 'low life'."

Iceland isn't in the highest ranks within his own Family – but he's still well respected within the Mafia community. His cold demeanour he inherited from his brother comes in handy in tough situations – yet he's much easier to approach than Norway is. Anni always imagines that somewhere down the line Denmark did manage to influence Haldur's personality somewhat.

"You do realise we're probably breaking some codes of conduct with this?" Haldur's voice is serious, but he's still smiling – too happy by her acceptance of his proposal to really care about anything else.

"Rules are meant to be broken." Anni replies flatly before flashing her fiancé a large and warm smile.

Her fiancé...the word sounds so perfect it makes her all giddy and excited.

"Don't let Prussia hear that." Haldur jokes as he finally manages to get himself and Anni to their feet again.

"No, no...I meant that rules are meant to be broken by me - everyone else has to follow them." she states matter of factly with a serious expression – before she burst out in giggles.

"Even me?" He enquires with a smirk

"Even you...unless it means going back on your promise." she adds sternly.

Haldur shakes his head, never the one to forget his initial promise to Anni all those years ago.

"You must be tired from such a long journey..." her small hand trace the features of his face with slow motions – his chin, his lips and his nose – before they reach up to touch his soft white hair.

"A little bit..." he admits after a while, the beginning of some dark circles beginning to show under his eyes

"but how are you holding up?" he asks with worry in his voice.

For the past five years Anni has been learning everything there is to know about the Mafia. Haldur has kept an eye on her the whole time – despite not being in the same family he refused to simply let her have to go through it all on her own. Something she's incredibly thankful for.

The first two years where especially daunting and terrifying. Threats from the Mediterranean family were around every corner. Thankfully it's now more or less resolved.

Haldur has been her unofficial right-hand man from the very start. Even if her family are helpful in all aspects – the Icelandic male provides a different perspective – because he takes into account she wasn't raised for such a job. And every once in a while: he makes her feel like any normal twenty-three year old in love.

"I'm perfectly fine...even better now you're home." she replies, twisting the engagement ring around her finger with her thumb.

"You're not getting too much work?"

"Haldur...I give the work, remember?" she laughs as she gives his nose a quick peck.

"I'm just looking out for my future wife." he remarks, a hint of a blush visible despite the darkness surrounding them in the room.

"Well, your future wife thinks we both need some sleep." Anni giggles as she intertwines their fingers and drag the older male towards the door and down the hallway towards her room.

Not much sleep is had by either of them that night, so Anni decides that a day off the next morning is within her rights.

Hungary and Prussia flash them both thumbs up at lunchtime, while Germany and Austria avert their gazes and try divert any conversation topic started by Gilbert and Elizabetha onto the weather or the weekly shopping list. Basch glares at Haldur the entire time – until Anni sends a glare back at him and he abruptly stops - joining in the weather discussion with the other Germanic men instead.

However; Anni couldn't care less. The whole Mafia network could know about them and it wouldn't change anything.

Because she knows no one will ever be more loyal and no one will love her more than Haldur – in return, Anni knows never in her life has anyone been so important to her.

* * *

><p><em>A.N:<em>

_I hope you enjoyed that._  
><em>There might be a few drabbles posted later in the week as a seperate story - to flesh out this AU (cause I have too much fun writing it)<em>  
><em>so if you liked this - keep an eye out for it 8D<em>


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